I need to go to a Latin market and get ingredients for VV party. Or try some more stuff Vegan Table, or 500 Vegan Recipes. And I haven't made burgers from Joni's burger yet. Vegan Italiano is underused; so is Tropical Vegan. I haven't made everything from Vcon yet--surely there is a sad unloved recipe lurking in there somewhere.

So many great cookbooks! How did we get so lucky? Remember even 3-4 years ago, WVaV was lonely in bookstores?

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Post subject: Re: The Talk Me Out of Buying More Cookbooks Support Thread

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:47 am

Has Isa on speed dial

Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 1:55 pmPosts: 80

I know what you mean i have tons of vegan cookbooks and i tell myself that i need to use the ones i have already more but then i come on the forum and everyones raving about smoky mountain cheese from vegan diner or a burger from joni's new book and then i feel like i really need need it when i don't. I was only supposed to buy hearty vegan and instead i bought hearty vegan & 500 vegan recipes. It seems like every month a new vegan cookbook comes out which a good thing. Coobook addiction is an expensive habit.

Post subject: Re: The Talk Me Out of Buying More Cookbooks Support Thread

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:16 am

Vegan Vegan Vegan Vegan Vegan

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 2:18 pmPosts: 4303Location: Portland, OR

If you're on a budget, stop buying cookbooks, and use the ones you have, in addition to the internet. Or make stuff up. Enjoy!

If you're vegan, and not greatly struggling with substitutions in 'normal' books, and I repeat, on a budget, I think you can survive without that book. I don't have a big need for it, but I'll pick it up one day to support the authors.

If you're curious about a book, take it out from the library and jot down your favorites. That's what I do most of the time.

The library here sucks, and I'd just end up paying large fines. The branch nearby was shutdown to save money. I miss the fairfax county library! Unfortunately, we live in the county with worst library access in the state. My parents tried to find gardening books, and after a month on wait lists, they bought stuff from amazon.

I could go spend that $10 on ingredients for VV instead of another cookbook. Yeah!

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Yeah, it's so rad that there are so many vegan cookbooks these days but, truth be told, there is a bit of repetition, so know what you are buying! It's great to support the vegan authors, but a budget is a budget, so make libraries your friend and spend a good deal of time leafing through books in bookstores to make sure it is something really unique you need to add to your collection. Then put it back on the shelf and wait until you have the money.

When I'm feeling an impulse to buy a new book but it's not necessarily something I'm sure I'll use, I just revisit the cookbooks I really do love and I usually find enough there tide me over. Plus, as Ms. Funks says, it is really quite liberating to make up your own recipes! By buying and using a lot of vegan cookbooks along with my own experimentation in the kitchen, I now have the confidence to throw together my own unique recipes or adaptations of recipes, and sometimes that's much more fun!

I cant afford to make up my own recipes. Anything I make up in my own is a disaster and gets thrown away. I'm hopeless in the kitchen without strong direction. Sad, but true. Except cookies. I can improvise there!

The nearest bookstore is now over 2 HR round trip so I can't look through like I used to; the library doesn't have any recent cookbooks; hell, with their budget freezes, they only bought 5 copies of the new Stephanie Plum book, county wide!

This is a problem because it has meant impulse buys on amazon. When the cookbooks are only $10, it seems so harmless. Then you realize you spent $50 on cookbooks in 6 months and have nowhere left to store them.

I took Vegan Subs out of my amazon cart and restricted myself only to my textbooks.

Go me!

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Post subject: Re: The Talk Me Out of Buying More Cookbooks Support Thread

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:04 pm

Bathes in Braggs

Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 9:51 amPosts: 1351Location: Minnesota

I have serious issues with cookbook buying. I bought so many as a vegetarian that I ended up never really using. Brand new books sitting on a bookshelf just getting dusty now. I only have a few vegan cookbooks so I'm trying to not go down the same path again, but it's really hard.

Post subject: Re: The Talk Me Out of Buying More Cookbooks Support Thread

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:09 pm

Hoards Peppermint Jo-Jos

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 2:10 pmPosts: 777Location: between a rock and a hard place

I'm right there with you. My local library's cookbook collection is sad - no veg cookbooks of any kind - and there is no money in the budget to buy anything new at the moment. My job is not permanent and I need money for living and baby-related expenses more than I need new cookbooks at the moment, but the temptation is still there!

I have at least one seemingly good cookbook that I have never used in my life (Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen), cookbooks with two or three great recipes I keep going back to but need to use for other things (like Vegan Soul Kitchen), and several gigantic cookbooks that I use but haven't scratched the surface of due to their overwhelming size (660 Curries, Vegan Planet). And then there are the hit-or-miss cookbooks that I'd like to give another chance (at least for the recipes that I hear are good), which is another story altogether.

Post subject: Re: The Talk Me Out of Buying More Cookbooks Support Thread

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:39 pm

Has it on Blue Vinyl

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 2:39 pmPosts: 2113Location: Missouri

cstadt wrote:

I use the internet way more than all the books I have. Especially blogs! I love you bloggers! Vegan cookbooks need more pictures. I feel saddened by the lack of pictures in the ones I have.

Same! I found an unused nice looking notebook the other day, so I'm writing out a recipe book so I have all my favourite recipes in one place. Might make one for a friend who's considering going vegan too.

_________________I was really surprised the first time I saw a penis. After those banana tutorials, I was expecting something so different. -Tofulish

I use the internet way more than all the books I have. Especially blogs! I love you bloggers! Vegan cookbooks need more pictures. I feel saddened by the lack of pictures in the ones I have.

Same! I found an unused nice looking notebook the other day, so I'm writing out a recipe book so I have all my favourite recipes in one place. Might make one for a friend who's considering going vegan too.

That's a great idea. A while ago, I started keeping a binder filled with page protectors that I filled with scans, printouts, or screen shots from Amazon look inside. I should revisit that.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Post subject: Re: The Talk Me Out of Buying More Cookbooks Support Thread

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:21 pm

Should Write a Goddam Book Already

Joined: Sun Jan 16, 2011 6:40 pmPosts: 1049

I feel your pain. I always feel like I need the next new cookbook, but the truth is that I've barely scratched the surface of the cookbooks I already have. And I definitely am in the "needs strong direction in the kitchen" category as well!

Luckily I have a decent public library, but there's usually a long-ish waiting list for whatever new vegan cookbook is coming out. So, usually that delays me at least a little bit -- I think, "Ok, I'll try it out from the library, and if I like at least a couple of things from it, I'll buy it." But..sometimes when I finally get it from the library, I don't have time to try anything, or even to pick it up... :(

I do the binder thing -- I also want to keep copies of recipes from cookbooks that I actually own in there, because it's easier to pull one sheet (in a sheet protector) from the binder than it is to get the whole cookbook out (and risk getting oil/tofu/whatever all over it). Right now we don't have a huge repertoire of things in the binder, but it's nice to have our go-to recipes in one spot.

Post subject: Re: The Talk Me Out of Buying More Cookbooks Support Thread

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:58 pm

Drunk Dialed Ian MacKaye

Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2010 5:47 pmPosts: 1868Location: NC

I hate my cookbook habit; I buy one and love it to bits. I'll cook out of it tons for a month or two and mentally check "to make" recipes, then it falls to the wayside and when I go back to it 6+ months later I can't find anything to make from it aside what was in regular rotation. Then I have some books, even more popular ones, that I just cannot get into, so there they sit, too. I'm on a budget, too, and like you,making my own recipes would result in massive losses of money but I can cook the hell out of someone else's creations.

I do try to do the find an unloved book and use it; AVK is a great place for you to start, too. Everything (with one exception) has been super from that book. And I wish shipping weren't expensive, I know exactly where my Vegan Planet is and I haven't used it in at least 2 years. And I'll be supportive here until the pie book and then I fear I may fall off the wagon.

Post subject: Re: The Talk Me Out of Buying More Cookbooks Support Thread

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:10 pm

Kitchens Planning Manchester

Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 10:13 pmPosts: 2504

I've put myself on a cookbook buying moratorium. I live in a tiny apartment and there is one built-in shelf next to the kitchen where I keep my cookbooks. It is completely full. I will only allow myself to buy kindle versions on my ipad which at least saves me on the space issue. I am going to buy Isa's new pie book when it comes out, though I might have to get rid of something else to make room.

I love cooking from the iPad, by the way. I cook from a lot of blogs and I can prop it on the counter while listening to podcasts...it's almost as good as a new cookbook!

Im sorry for stating my opinion of the burgers so rudely. I know a lot of people have raved about them, so clearly, my experience with them is not typical.

I had a huge blowup with my mom over them and wasted food an hour ago. She gets very crazy about any wasted food, which gets difficult since I can't eat normal sized portions, so invariably something gets tossed, no matter what. It was not at all nice of me to translate that into unnecessarily bisque-y comments and is a great reminder for me to think before I post.

Thank you to Celyn for pointing out to me that comment was extremely rude and thoughtless, and deep apologies to Tamsin for repaying her kindness and helpful advice in the cookbook thread with such a mean comment.

_________________"This is the creepiest post ever if you don't know who Molly is." -Fee"a vegan death match sounds like something where we all end up hugging." -LisaPunk

Post subject: Re: The Talk Me Out of Buying More Cookbooks Support Thread

Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 10:46 am

Nooch of Earl

Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2010 2:18 pmPosts: 3789Location: Bella Napoli

I don't think either of those books is a total vegan game-changing must-have, good though they may be. I've only made a couple things out of each so far, despite good intentions.

I've run out of space on my 3 shelf cookbook bookcase. Some pruning needs to happen, but it makes me so sad, even though there are cookbooks that I have *never* made anything out of and probably won't. Some of them deserve a second look, maybe I cooked from them when I was young and bad at life and I would have more success now; with others it seems like nobody has good results.. and I need to figure out which is which.